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` G. F. ELLIOTT, SUBMARINB. SHELL. No. 467,792. Patented Jan 26 UNITEDSTATES PATE-NT OFFICE.

GEORGEFRANK ELLIOTT, OE THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

sUBMARlN-E SHELL.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 467,792, dated January26, 1892. Application filed February 19. 1891l Serial No. 382,052- (Nomodel.)

pedO-ields-that is to say, submarine fixed,

mines or torpedoes employed for harbor defence and the like-againstsearchers or parties who may attempt to sweep or drag such iields.

The shell is intened to be an offensive protector, and to have, itsdestructive radius on and above the surface of the Water in which it isplanted. To this end it comprises aixed gun orV case, which is belowwater and may be red mechanically or electro mechani# cally, and eitherby observation or by being engaged by a sweep or drag passing over thetorpedo-field which the shell is intended to protect, and a shell properwhich is contained in and discharged from the gun, but which is soorganized that it bursts or explodes only after it`has passed up abovethe surface Vof the water. It is in this combination ofinstrumentalities that my invention, essentially, is comprised.

The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may becarried into effect will be readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis alongitudinal centralsection of the complete submarine shell. Fig. 2 is a like section of thelower part of the shell proper, with the trigger mechanism inf theposition it assumes after the shell has been fired from the gun andwahile it is passing upthrough the water.

The case or gun consists of two sectionsthe tube or barrel A and thebase-piece B which'are united together by a'screw-joint or by othersuitable means. The base, which is adapted to be bolted or otherwisesuitably secured to any proper submarine foundation or support, containsthe chamber a for holding the explosive-such as gunpowder, rocketcomposition, or other suitable agent-by which the shell is expelled, andan air-space l) between the powder-chamber and the sabot of the shell toprovide an air-cushion, which will prevent shock which might causepremature explosion of the shell. The bore of the barrel A is of twodiameters, that part of it in which the sabot C fits being of slightlygreater diameter than the part in which the shell D is contained, sothat when the gun is `fired the sabot may act as a gas-check. Thebarrelabove the shell is closed by a watertight plug-E, which is tapered andpreferably is made in two or more sections.

The shellV itself consists of a solid head screwed onto the hollow bodyof the shell, which body is tapered toward the base to give it a clearrun through the water, and at this point is provided with ns c to assureit in its course. l/Vithin the body of the shell is the chamber toreceive the bursting charge, (which may be gun-cotton or other suitableexplosive,) this chamber being formed by a copper or other suitablemetal case d. Be# tween this case and the outer walls of the shell arecontained the metallic balls e, and the case is so formed that it .willconstitute, also, a sheath for the firing-tube E, which, with itscontained mechanism,-will now be described.

The firing-tube F is screwed into the base of the shell and extendsthence up into the chamber which contains the bursting charge, where itis sheathed by a portion of the case d, as above explained. In the topof this tiring-tube Vis fixed what may be called a cartridge-tube f,which contains a cartridge,

such a pistol-cartridge Vhen this is fired, the ball is driven upthrough the sheath cl. into the bursting charge of the shell, whichthereby is exploded. The cartridge is exploded by a firing pin orplunger g, Which has a slight reciprocating movement in the firing-.tube F and brings up at the rearagainst across head or pinh,through-which its shank g freely passes. The shank g is splitlengthwise into two orv moreV sections, which are of spring metalnormally set so as to spread apart, but which are of such size that whencompressed together they will snugly fit in a socket rl in the front endof a rod c', which servesas a hammer, and to this end is capable oflongitudinal reciprocation in the firing-tube. The

enlarged head of the hammer-rod in which IOO extent of this forwardmovement being limited by a flange 713 on the rear end of the rod rowhich brings up against the guide rearward movement, and consequentlythe degree of compression of the spring 7c. When the hammer-rod ispulled back, the tiring-pin gis incapable of following this movement,and consequently the socket t" draws away from and quits the split stemor shank g. Vhen this takes place, the sections of the 4Shank springapart, as indicated in Fig. 2. It 2o now the hammer-rod be released, thespring 7c by its recoil will drive the head ot the rod against thespread base of the shank g', and the tiring-pin will thereby bedrivenforcibly forward. Its point will be driven through the 2 5 hole inthe base of the cartridge-tube against ythe head of the cartridgetherein and the carftridge will be exploded. Various means may beemployed for assuring that this result shall take placeonly at'ter theshell passes up 3o above the surface of the water. One simple means forthis purpose is illustrated in the drawings, consisting,` ot a sphericalor other suitably-shaped drag l, connected. to the rear end of thehammer-rod by a metallic lanyard m. Vhen the shell is in the gun, thelanyard lies coiled in the rear open end of the tiring- 'tube F, and thedrag is received in a suitable "space formed for it in the abuttingparts of the shell and sabot. The drag is made of 4o wood or othersuitable material.

Vhen the gun is tired and the shell and sabot pass themuzzle, the sabot,which breaks 'in two or more pieces, quits the shell, thus 'leavingexposed the drag. The latter, inasmuch as it loses its momentum muchsooner 1 than the shell and is more readily held back by the resistanceof the water, separates from the shell, and by its dragging actionexerts th-rough the lanyard a pull upon the hammer- 5o rod sufficient toretract it, separating it from the firing-plunger and holding it in whatmay be called its cocked position, as illustrated' in Fig. 2. The partsare maintained in this po- Jsition until the shell has passed above thesurface of the water and the drag is thrown into the air. When thispoint is reached, the

spring 7c is free to act, and by its recoil causes through theintermediary of the hammer-rod and the tiring-plunger the explosion ofthe 6o cartridge, which in turn brings about the explosion of the shell,whose contents thus are scattered with destructiveeffect over and abovethe surface of the water.

In another application, tiled of even date herewith and bearing SerialNo. 382,053, I

have illustrated another device which can be used for this purpose. Inthis device the drag Z A, shoulder t2 on therod limits the extent of itsis dispensed with and the effect of that drag is obtained by causing thewirelanyard (which is coiled in a chamber in the base below thepowder-chamber)'to pull through a frictionclamp iixed to the base,whereby sufficient pull is exerted upon the lanyard during the upwardfiight of the shell to hold the firingplunger retracted until the freeend of the lanyard passes through and beyond the clamp. The lanyard maybe of such length as to cause the discharge ot the shell only after itrises above the water and in this event it should of course be of alength at least equal to the depth at low water of the water in whichthe gun is planted. It is on this account that for the purposesof asubmarine shell which shall explode only after it rises above thesurface of the water that I prefer the means iirst above described,because it is apparent that however much the depth of water may vary thedrag Z will cause the shell to explode at the same point, with referenceto the surface of the water in all cases.

It remains now to describe the means by which the gun may be tired. Thismay be done in various ways, as hereinbefore indicated, electrically orelectro mechanically from a distant-shore station, or mechanically byengagement of the tiring mechanism with a sweep or drag in the immediatevicinity. I have shown vboth means conjoined in the drawings.

I shall first describe the mechanism by which the gun may be tiredatwill by lan observer located at a distant station; and I may hereobserve that this mechanism is one which is designed to operate a numberof submarine shell located at suitable points throughout thetorpedo-field which it is desired to protect, and connected electricallyin series,

` the arrangement beingv such that one shell or gun only is in circuitat a time with the station, but that the act of tiring the gun thus incircuit will have the effect of automatically closing the circuitbetween the station and the gun next in series. This is a nicety,

' rather than a necessity, for manifestly each gun may have its ownindependent connections. I pret'er, however, the arrangement which I amabout to describe on the score of economy and for other reasons.

Screwed water-tight through the base of the gun into the powder-chamberis a forged steel plug G, which is partially pierced longitudinally witha true tapered hole n, the remaining portion being piercedswith acylindrical hole n of smaller diameter. A larger steel plug I-I screwsinto the base, so as to abut at its inner end against the outer end ofthe steel plug G. This plug H is cored out longitudinally, and at itsinner end is recessed to receive a plug t', of hard rubber or yotherconducting material, which bears against the end of the steel plug G. Inthe inner end of this plug is formed a cavity o, with a concave bottom,which is pierced centrally for the passage ot the circuit-closingplunger, to be pres- IOO IIO

ently described. The bottom of the cavity o 1s provided with brasscontact-strips o, insulated from each other, to each of which isconnected an external binding-post, (lettered, respectively,p and p.) Toone of these posts p is connected the wire'which leads from thevobservation point cr shore station. To the other is connected the wirewhich leads to the gun which is next in series. This lastnamed'wire willbe connected to that bindingpost of the second gun which corresponds tothe post p of the one under consideration. These two wires pass outthrough a taper rubber plug J, which is compressed into acorrespondingly-tapered portion of the bore of plug I-l by aco1npressing-nut K, screwing into the base, thus forming a water-tightjoint at this point.

The circuit closing plunger above mentioned is represented at L. It iscapable of endwlse movement and extends through the passages n n', backinto the recess o', and out through the bottom of that recess.That-portion of it which is in the passage n is ot' Va taper exactlycorresponding to that of the passage and of a size to exactly andtightly lit the hole or passage n when it is forced back until itsshoulder L brings up against the'shoulder at the rear of the passager..At lts in ner end it is provided with arubber disk r, which is pressedand expanded laterally by a cap r, so that when the plunger is in theinward position shownin the drawings, which is its normal position, theedges of the rubber will form a guide-flange, by which the body of theplunger in the taper passage n will be held out of contact with thewalls of the passage. The air-space thus formed will afford theresistance needed to insulate this part of the plunger from the Walls ofthe passage with the feeble electrical currents that are 1n practiceused; but for greater protection the plunger or the walls of the passagecan, it' desired, be coated with insulating materral of any suitablekind. The same is true of that part'of the plunger which plays in thecylindrical passage n. This portion of the plunger is sufficientlysmaller in diameter than the passage 'a' to leave an air-space betweenthe plunger and the walls of the passage; but either or both may becoated with lnsulating material, if desired. That portion of the stem ofthe plunger which extends out beyond the passage n into the cavity inthe hard-rubber plug and out through the bottom o f the same is coatedwith insulating materlal, and said ,portion lits snugly in the hole inthe bottom of` the hard-rubber plug. On its outer end is a binding-screwp2, which is electrically connected to the body of the plunger, and thisbinding-screw p2 is electrically connected to the binding-postp by afrail conducting strip or'wire p3. Upon the insulated portion of thestem ot' the plunger is fixed a dlsk 194, of brass or other conductingmaterial, this'disk being so located that when the plunger 1s movedoutwardly far enough to bring its shoulder L against the bottom of thetaper passage n the disk will rest upon and form an electrical bridgebetween the two contacts o o. To the inner end of the plungerisconnected the wire p5, which enters the powderchamber of the gun, hasthe fuse 236 attached to it at that point, and thence extends to theother side of the chamber, where it is attached and electricallyconnected to a platinum plug p7, which, owing to its non-corrosivenature, l prefer to use in order to form the needed earth connection.

Assuming the gun to be loaded and fixed to its foundation or supportbeneath the water and in readiness for tiring, then the circuit will befrom the distant station throughpost p, wire p3, post p2, plunger L,wire p5, plug p7, to ground. The moment the circuit is closed bymomentarily depressing the closing key or button at the distant stationthe fuse p6 is ignited, thus-igniting the powdercharge in thepowder-chamber, and the gun is discharged. The force of the explosionbreaks the wire p5, forces back the plunger L as far as it will go, thusbreaking the frail connecting-strip p3 and bringing the disk p4 as abridge down upon the contacts 0 o. The circuit now will be from thedistant station to post p, contact o of that post, bridge p4, contact oof post p', and from the latter post to post p of the gun next inseries, through. which the circuit is completed to the ground of thatgun in the manner lirst above described. The operator, therefore, byagain depressing the circuit-closing key at the distant station candischarge the second gun. This brings into circuit the third gun, and soon throughout the series.

To provide for the tiring of the gun mechanically, I employ a metallicelbow M, the horizontal member of which screws into the base of the gunand communicates with the vertical member of which is cored out toprovide a chamber which at its bottom communicates with the vent. Intothis chamber is fitted a steel' cylinder N, held therein by ascrew-joint at the top, and in the lower end of this cylinder isinserted and held by a screw-joint the brass open-bottomed case O, whichcontains the fulminate. In the fulminate is a barbed stem s, by theretraction of which it is fired, which stem extends through a glass headt, hermetically closing the fullninate-case, and is connected by a linkt to the lowervend of a longitudinally-movable rod P, which ts in thecylinder N and extends out from the upper end of the same. At the pointwhere it passes out from the cylinder it is packed by a rubber-taperedcylindrical plugu and a compressingnut IIO more feetbelow the surface ofthe Water in position to be grappled or engaged by any drag or sweepused to rake the torpedo-field, -`which is to be protected. To furtherinsure such engagement, the wire R is provided with arms or hooks R',upon which will catch anything used for dragging or sweeping. A pullupon the wire or float will retract the rod P, and consequently the stems, thus exploding the fulminate, which, through the communicating ventr2, will in turn ignite the powdercharge in the powder-chamber of thegun.

In order to assure the rod P against accidental movement, it is held atits lower end by a cross-pin w, of brass or other comparatively-yieldingmetal, which passes through it into the walls of the cylinder N on eachside, and is of such strength that when an upward pull of, say, onehundred pounds is exerted upon the Wire R it will buckle and give way,and thus permit the upward movement of the rod P. Such a pull would bereadily exerted under ordinary conditions by a sweep or drag passingover the field and would scarcely 'be perceptible by those operating thesweep.

Having now described my improvements and the best way now known to me ofcarrying the same into effect, I state in conclusion that I do notrestrict myself to the precise details of construction and arrangementhereinbefore described and illustrated, for manifestly the same can bevaried considerably 1. An apparatus for protecting submarinetorpedo-fields, comprising a gun fixed to the bed or bottom of the bodyof water to be protected, a shell adapted to be contained in anddischarged from the gun,iiring mechanism at tached to and carried by theshell for exploding the charge therein, and a drag connected to andadapted to operate the said firing mechanism to effect. the explosion ofthe bursting charge of the shell only. after the latter rises above thesurface of the Water, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbeforeset forth.

2. An apparatus for protecting submarine torpedo-fields, consisting of agun fixed to the bed or bottom of the body of water to be protected,ashell adapted to be contain edin and discharged from said gun, and meanscarried by the shell for exploding the bursting charge 5 5 of the shell,comprising aspring-impelled hammer-rod or plunger and a drag, which, bythe Aaction of the Water through which the shell passes, is caused toretract the hammer-rod or plunger against the pressure of its spring,substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

3. A submarine -gun provided with a firing mechanism, combined with afloat connected to said mechanism by a wire or other cord, substantiallyas and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.I

R. W. HUNTINGTON, A. C. KELTON.

